The other day I was given the task of updating an InfoPath template part that was in use on a laptop, because a newer version of this template part was available.

Upon opening the InfoPath client, I saw this:

There were two template parts, and in this case they are named “TemplateGroup1” and “TemplateGroup2”. I had a new version for the “TemplateGroup1” template part. I clicked on “Add or Remove Custom Controls” and got this screen:

As you can see, the “TemplateGroup1” does not show up, which I thought was weird. So, I tried clicking on “Add” to just add the new version of the “TemplateGroup1”, but that gave me this error:

So, I was at a loss… I couldn’t remove the existing version, and I couldn’t upload a new version.

Finally, I discovered what had happened. The user has an entry in the registry like this:

The key “IPCustomControlsFolder” is placed in the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\InfoPath\Designer” path of the registry. All template parts you put into this folder are automatically added to the controls of InfoPath.

So I found that path, and deleted the “TemplateGroup1” template part, and everything was fine.

So, what I now know is, that there are two ways of adding new template parts to be used by InfoPath:

Add them manually inside the InfoPath client (or the toolbox in VS.NET)

Add the right registry key to the registry, so you have a repository of template parts. This is especially useful for a repository on a shared network folder that can be used for all employees.

So if you ever have trouble removing a template parts from the custom controls section, look for the registry key.

I KNOW it is old, but I have just today finally taken the time to listen to an interview on Channel 9 with Sean O’Driscoll, who is the general manager for community support and the MVP program. You can find it here.

Sean talks a lot about what the MVP program is, and I’d like to just take a couple of really important points from his talk and list here

The MVP award is a “Thank you” for your PAST efforts in the communities. There are NO expectations to an MVP about what to do the next 12 months or the next day, even.

The MVP award lasts 12 months. After that you will have to be reevaluated to see if your past 12 months of contributions to the community have been good enough to warrant a reaward.

A true MVP gets the award not because he wants the award but because he wants to help people. A true MVP would do exactly the same effort in communities even if there was no MVP award.

Especially the third point is important to me. I mean.. the first time I was awarded the MVP title, I got an email from MS stating that I had been nominated, and I had to go search on the internet to find out what the MVP award was, because I had NO idea…

Anyway, it’s a good video – go watch it! :)

Edit: Only 15 minutes after I posted it: Sean is no longer GM of community support. Toby Richards is that now. Big thanks to my very fast MVP lead Gerard Verbrugge for setting me straight! :)

Here at Logica in Denmark, we have just been told that we have been chose as the Danish Microsoft Partner of the year. We are naturally quite proud of this, and one of the reasons for choosing us is, that despite the financial crisis we have gained market shares.